Six of the best: £700-a-month motors

Six of the best: £700-a-month motors

John Calne - What Car

Published:10:00 amDecember 7, 2016

If you’ve got the cash to spend, there’s no end of finance deals to help you spend it

Not many people can lay their hands on £700 a month to put towards paying off car finance. If you can, though, personal contract purchase (PCP) means you can get your hands on something you’d otherwise only be able to dream of.

Even if you’re minted, PCPs still make a lot of sense as they allow you to buy a car without tying up a load of cash in it. At the very top of the market, even the super-rich often favour this as a way of buying cars – on the basis that it liberates money that can be working harder for them elsewhere.

You don’t need to be that hard-nosed in order for a PCP to be right for you. The following half-dozen premium opportunities, based on three-year PCPs, illustrate that this kind of finance brings prestige motoring temptingly close to the reach of the (well-heeled) working man…

1: Audi Q7 3.0 TDI quattro S line

Monthly payment: £606
Target price: £49,033
Deal: 6.3% APR, £1750 finance contribution
So long as you’re not planning to go off-road, the Q7 is one of the most complete 4x4s there is. It’s big, spacious, practical and steeped in luxury, with a supremely comfortable cabin delivering the classic high-set seating position of a great SUV.

2: Mercedes-Benz S 350 d SE Line L

Monthly payment: £666
Target price: £50,726
Deal: 4.8% APR, £13,380 finance contribution
Whether you’re driving yourself or leaving your chauffeur to do the work, the S-Class is the definitive luxury car. It’s hugely roomy in the back, and you can spend five times as much and still not get a car that rides any better.

3:Volvo XC90 2.0 D5 Powerpulse Inscription AWD Geartronic

Monthly payment: £645
Target price: £49,645
Deal: 5.9% APR
The latest in a long line of big Volvos, though this one’s more sleek and stylish and less tank-like. Its cabin is just as cool as its body, and it’s well equipped in addition to ticking all the safety boxes. The diesel engine is strong, and it handles tidily too.

4: Mercedes-AMG C 63 Estate

Monthly payment: £696
Target price: £55,230
Deal: 4.8% APR, £2267 finance contribution
The new E-Class was one of the it-cars of 2016, and in estate form it’s more practical but still just as stylish. Add the twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 of the full-fat AMG version, and you have a family wagon that’s also a supercar slayer.

5: BMW X5 xDrive30d M Sport 7 seat

Monthly payment: £645
Target price: £50,776
Deal: 4.9% APR
The X5 was one of the first premium SUVs, and its name is still close to being a Hoover word for classy 4x4s. You sit up high in a cabin that’s big, classy and superbly put together – and these days it’s available as a seven-seater, too.

6: BMW 740e

Monthly payment: £666
Target price: £65,290
Deal: 0% APR
There might be something rather satanic about the monthly payment, but the plug-in hybrid version of the 7 Series is more angel than demon. It rides beautifully on a cushion of air and the official figures say it returns 134mpg.